We anticipate a great week of matchups with teams facing off against relatively evenly matched opponents. Each game could go either way.

SUNDAY:
Townsend vs Capello
Winner: Capello
Both these teams have more talent than they were given credit for to start the year. Admittedly, I haven’t seen Townsend play at full strength yet, but it’s been difficult to tell if they’re legit or not. At the very least, Team Townsend has removed their previous label of “just a bunch of squids.” James and Jeremy will have to come near matching French and Hirsch’s scoring totals, which is something they haven’t done consistently this year. Capello is a tall team, so AJ will have to have a nice performance for Townsend to prevail.

Barry vs Guilbeau
Winner: Guilbeau
One of the two premiere matchups of the week and even season, this game is a measuring stick game for Team Guilbeau. Having easily handled everyone in their path thus far, we’ll see how they stack up against a contender. This game will hold a lot of value in the power rankings, as these two teams have been jostling for position all season. We’ll see how many people are willing to wake up early to watch this one; we’re assuming Coach Kelley and Scott Morin will be in attendance. Assuming Keegan wears his arm sleeves with holes for his thumbs, we’ll give the edge to Guilbeau.

Bersani vs Schiffman
Winner: Bersani
This is the other premiere matchup this week. Team Schiffman hasn’t played a good team yet, so this is their first big test. They’re undefeated to this point, but slim victories against lower end teams don’t inspire much confidence. McCafferty and Bersani should be too much to handle for Team Schiffman, unless Nichols and other players, possibly including newly nicknamed “Crashwin,” put forth double digit scoring performances. We anticipate a reality check for Team Schiffman this week.

Kelley vs Croft
Winner: Kelley
Kelley has had an up and down start to the year. Walker has dominated many games, but when he hasn’t, they’ve struggled. Croft will need to minimize the impact of Walker in order to pull off the upset. Pat Kelley and Joey Kurtz are very capable scorers, but they’ll need to prove they can do enough to carry the team to victory if Walker is struggling or facing double teams. For Croft, Keith will need to make over 10% of his layups to stand a chance, and Crowley or McMahon will need to score double digits, as they’ve shown inconsistency in doing so thus far.

McGinn vs Mac
Winner: Mac
This could be one of the better games this week, as both teams sit just above the middle of the pack. Team Mac has impressed with their ability to spread out scoring or have Eli go off. Team McGinn will have to neutralize their main three scorers, especially Eli, to stand a chance. McGinn and Prune will also have to not suck, as they have in a handful of games so far this year, and scoring help from one of their talented underclassmen would also go a long way. Maybe COY candidate Santi can help lead Team McGinn to victory.

Philbrook vs Khoury
Winner: Khoury
Team Philbrook has yet another legitimate chance of getting win number one this year, but they aren’t the favorites in this one. Jared has stepped up and had a strong year, but nobody else has consistently been able to score… I’m looking at you Rhidam and the McCarthy brothers. Khoury’s big men in the Choate brothers will most likely dominate this game. Philbrook just simply doesn’t have the height to compete with them on the boards. Asael will add some points into the total as well. Team Khoury should be able to handle Philbrook, but you never know you’re going to get from Big Choater.

Last vs Meyer
Winner: Meyer
Team Last has seen the surprising emergence of Kevin Flahive the elite scorer. However, Sternberg’s attendance and shooting efficiency have been lackluster so far, especially for a top pick. On the other side, Team Meyer has disappointed so far, and I have one large issue after watching their last game: Alex Mack was on the bench in crunch time of a one possession game. He shot 67% from the floor last game and, per ushe, played solid D. If Meyer avoids making similar coaching mistakes, this should be their game to win. Zach Levine should be the best player in this game, and Anirban has also been playing and scoring well.

Hogan vs Grossman
Winner: Grossman
Yes, you read that right. Team Grossman could very well win a game this week after consistently losing close matchups against lower tier teams. Without Coach Grossman, Coach Cardin led this team to an admirable performance where they were within 5 in the second half but ultimately ended up losing against an elite Team Barry. Phelps, Gould, and Cardin will need to outscore the Primeau brothers and Jaeger, or else Grossman will waste away their hopes of getting victory number one in this winnable game, and Coach Cardin could slowly begin to take over the interim head coach role with Coach Grossman growing more frustrated.

Pats vs Rams
Winner: Patriots
Tom Brady’s the best player of all time. The end.

MONDAY:
Capello vs. Croft
Winner: Capello
Team Capello should win this one in a close game. Who on Team Croft will guard Frenchy and Hirsch? Potential COTY Croft will have to prepare well for this game. Croft has some hidden weapons that could go off; Maxil Sasdi is preparing for a breakout performance, and he’ll need to bring it on defense to limit the formidable frontcourt of Team Capello. This Monday night game could be a close one, as Team Croft does carry an under the radar, underdog vibe. However, we see Frenchy and Hirsch outscoring the starting 5 on Croft, and Capello pulling out the win.

Meyer vs. Hogan
Winner: Hogan
Another close game on Monday night, but we see Team Hogan winning this one in a bit of an upset. Starting guard combo of Zach Levine and Anirban will most likely do the scoring for Meyer. Alex Mack will also provide his tenacious defense. However, Team Meyer’s bench will need to step up against Hogan. We would love to see Macker break his season high of 4 points. Meyer may struggle to match the height of Hogan. Who’s going to box out Ryan? The Primeau brothers and Jaeger will prove to be too much for Meyer’s defense to handle. This should be a decent game, but Hogan should pull out the win.

McGinn vs. Townsend
Winner: McGinn
Team Townsend has given Team McGinn a lot of bulletin board material for this matchup. Zac Colebourn may be short, but he talks a big game. It’s been said that Team Townsend has boasted that their defense will help them easily beat an “overrated” Team McGinn. Team McGinn has to hope their team uses this as fuel to produce their best showing of the year. Look for Mitch “splash” Shendarovich to play a big role for Team McGinn defensively. AJ should clean up on the glass for Townsend. It should be a fun game to watch with considerable trash talk.